Charts Don’t Lie: January 25

Weekly review of the Hip-Hop and R&B sales/charts.

This week proved to be a big one for hip-hop music, with Joey Bada$$ and Lupe Fiasco dropping their respective albums on the same day (January 20th), not to mention, free projects from Trinidad James, Lil Wayne, Yo Gotti and K Camp. While the latter projects won't be charting on the Billboard 200, both Joey and Lupe are expected to impact shortly. This past week we learned the expected first week sales for either rapper, with Joey Bada$$ (surprisingly? let us know what you think) coming out on top. The New York native's debut album B4.DA.$$ is expected to break the 50k mark (50-60k), while Lupe Fiasco's Tetsuo & Youth may not (35-40k). Last week we were wondering how Joey's first week numbers would compare to fellow newcomers Rae Sremmurd-- and it looks like they will definitely be in similar ballparks (SremmLife did 46k opening week), although who fares longer on the charts is another question. It's interesting to compare because while they are both relatively new artists with debut albums, they took a different approach when it came to the roll out. Lupe Fiasco has actually done quite a bit of promo for Tetsuo & Youth, and despite it already being well-received by the fans, it looks like that won't translate into sales. Check back next week to find out where either LP debuted.

1) Mark Ronson— Uptown Special: Singer Mark Ronson returned with his first album in five years, Uptown Special, and it fared pretty well its first week out. With a debut of #5 on the Billboard 200, the album moved 76,727 units opening week. He managed such a high number and debut mainly due to the fact that Billboard now factors single sales and streams into their total number. (sales: 30,047).

2) Nicki Minaj—The Pinkprint: Nicki is still doing well on the charts despite dropping from last week’s position at #3. This week she falls to #6 after spending five weeks on the Billboard 200. Her album sales and streams this week were 53,719 (sales: 30,206) while her total number reached 418,406.

3) J. Cole— 2014 Forest Hills Drive: Cole is keeping afloat as well, with 2014 Forest Hills Drive charting in its sixth week at #10 this week. The album dropped three spots since last week. The combo of sales and streams this week is 37,930 units (sales:27,739). His total sales have now surpassed 600k and near 700k, sitting at 685,993.

4) Jazmine Sullivan—Reality Show: R’n’b singer Jazmine Sullivan delivered her new album Reality Show which entered the Billboard 200 this week at #12. In her opening week, the singer sold a solid 32,254 units (sales: 29,708).

5) Rae Sremmurd— SremmLife: After making a strong debut in their first week out, Rae Sremmurd fall off ever so slightly, dropping down to #17. This week the two brothers moved another 23,012 in sales and streams (sales: 10,910). Their total sales are now 45,313.

6) Pitbull—Globalization: We haven’t been keeping close tabs on Pitbull’s new album, but he’s back today with the album dropping down two spots to #30. It doesn’t seem like Pitbull’s mainstream status is really helping with album sales, as he did 14,108 units this week (sales: 3,385) His total sales aren’t even 100k yet (and he’s been charting for 8 weeks). 97,921 in total sales thus far.

7) Beyonce—Beyonce: Bey Bey comes in at #39 this week. That’s an 8-spot descent from last week, but considering she’s been charting for 58 weeks, it’s no biggie. This week the self-titled album did numbers of 10,960 (sales: 4,018) while her total sales are 2,196,000.

8) D’Angelo— Black Messiah: D’Angelo’s unexpected return to the game, Black Messiah, has been slowly dropping down the Billboard 200 after making a strong debut. In its fifth week out the album drops down to #43. The album’s sales and streams from the past week are 9,797 (sales: 8,725). Total sales are 185,000.

This week on Billboard's Hot 100 we're seeing Wale's single with Jeremih, "The Body," make an entry at #98. A little bit below that, Common and John Legend's "Glory" enters at #92. Omarion's recent drop "Post To Be" is rising up, making a 7-spot leap to #91. Kanye West's "Only One" is doing the opposite, making a 31-spot descent to #85. Chris Brown and Tyga's single "Ayo" also experienced a big drop, down to #72. The Weeknd had a nice rise up with his "Fifty Shades of Grey" contribution "Earned It" rising up to #70. Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj and Beyonce are unmoved at #61. As we get into the top 20, Nicki Minaj graces us again with "Only" occupying spot #19. Beyonce is ahead by one though, with "7/11" at #18. Finally, Big Sean's "IDFWU" continues to trend at #14.